Firefighting is an inherently dangerous occupation. It is therefore important for firefighters to be well trained. As with many occupations, the best way to train firefighters is through hands on experience. Unfortunately, hands on training when dealing with firefighting is also dangerous because it typically requires the use of real fires, real heat and real smoke.
To provide for hands on training in a safe environment, firefighters typically train using specially designed and specially constructed buildings or towers. The term training building (also referred to as training structure or training facility), as used herein, means a building that is specially designed, built and constructed for the primary purpose of training firefighters through the use of hands on training (e.g., training using one or more of fire, heat or smoke). Training buildings are not designed or built for the purpose of occupancy.
As mentioned above, firefighter training structures are specifically designed, configured, built and constructed for the primary purpose of training firefighters. They typically include special features not generally found on other buildings. For example, they may include one or more of the following special features: chop out hatches, rappelling rings, propane systems, fire department connections, and an artificial smoke distribution system. It should be noted that training structures may include one, more than one, or none of these features and may include other special features not specifically mentioned herein.
In addition to having special features, firefighter training buildings are also specially constructed using special materials. For example, they are typically built to withstand the high heat that can be generated by a live, continuously burning, training fire. The heat from these training fires can reach 600 to 1200 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
Many prior art firefighter training buildings are built using metal framing (e.g., metal studs and joists), metal floor decking, metal roof decking and metal siding. These metal components are generally manufactured using galvanized metal or stainless steel. Metal components are used because they do not burn and they do not rot. Stainless steel and/or galvanized metal are used because these materials do not rust. It should be noted that prior art training structures are not limited to metal framed structures. Other prior art training buildings, for example, have poured concrete walls (or walls made from concrete block) and upper level poured concrete floor decks.
These structures can also handle large volumes of water. The floor on the ground level of many training structures, for example, is typically sloped. This allows water to quickly run out of the building. These floors, which are typically made of poured concrete, generally have slopes on the order of ⅛″ to ¼″ per foot. In addition to the ground floor, higher level floors that are made of concrete (or other impermeable materials) also typically slope to allow for water run-off.
Firefighter training structures are also built to handle heavy loads. The floors and roofs in these training structures are typically rated to support live loads on the order of 70 lbs/sq ft to 100 lbs/sq ft. In comparison, most residential and commercial structures have floors that are rated to handle live loads on the order of only 40 lbs/sq ft and roofs that are designed to handle live loads on the order of 30 lbs/sq ft to 50 lbs/sq ft.
The term live load, as used herein, means the load that is created by anything that can move or be moved (e.g., the load created by equipment, firefighters, water, etc.). In comparison, the term dead load, as used herein, means the load created by anything that is permanently attached to the building and therefore not movable (e.g., the load created by the roof itself).
The interior of prior art training structures typically includes at least one room on each floor, although some prior art training structures contain more than one interior room on each floor. The building may also include a specially designed live fire burn room adjacent to the other room or rooms in the building. The live fire burn room is typically located on the ground floor although it can be located on other floors. Other prior art training buildings include no live fire burn rooms or more than one live fire burn room.
The term burn room (or live fire burn room), as used herein, means a room having specially insulated walls and a specially insulated ceiling such that the heat generated by repeated training fires located inside of the burn room does not damage the rest of the building. For example, some prior art burn rooms can withstand continuous heat of 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. Similarly, the walls of some prior art burn rooms are insulated such that the outside surface of the wall will not exceed 300 degrees Fahrenheit when the temperature on the inside surface of the wall (e.g., inside of the burn room) is 1200 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
The actual live training fire that is used during training is typically contained in, and confined to, the burn room. Smoke from the fire contained in the burn room generally escapes out into and fills the other rooms located in the training building. Firefighters must then make there way through the other smoke filled rooms of the building for search and rescue training operations and to extinguish the training fire.
The interior rooms in most prior art training structures are either wide open or have permanent fixed interior partition walls, These walls are generally provided to make it more difficult for the firefighter to make his or her way through the building during training exercises. Regardless of whether or not the interior rooms are wide open or include permanent fixed partition walls, once the firefighter learns the fixed layout of the training structure, the training aspect of using the building is severely diminished. This is because the firefighter becomes familiar with the layout of the building and learns the exact location of the training fire inside of the structure. It is desirable, therefore, to have a training building having floor plans that can be changed. Preferably, the floor plans will be easy to reconfigure without the use of any tools.
In an attempt to overcome the problem of layout familiarity, many fire departments randomly place objects on the floor around the interior of the rooms. Other departments clamp objects to the permanent walls or hang objects from the ceiling of the rooms. For example, plywood sheets have been hung from the ceiling in these rooms in an attempt to change the layout of the rooms.
These makeshift solutions suffer from several problems however. Objects placed randomly on the floor of the training structure create a tripping hazard. Plywood sheets that are clamped to walls or hung from ceiling joists are generally secured to the building in a makeshift manner because the building was not designed for such purpose. Furthermore, plywood sheets hung from the ceiling are typically not secured to the floor in any manner. As a result, the bottom of these plywood sheets swing freely when bumped. If bumped hard enough during training exercises, they can even become disconnected from the ceiling.
All of these problems are amplified when one considers that these objects are placed in a room where visibility is low do to darkness and thick black smoke. It is further desirable, therefore, to have a reconfigurable room partitioning system that is safe and easy to use and does not suffer from the problems associated with the makeshift solutions discussed above.